Strawberry Shrub
This Strawberry Shrub recipe is one of my favorite ways to make any drink feel special. This hot-processed drinking vinegar takes about 30 minutes to make and calls for three ingredients — fresh strawberries, granulated sugar and apple cider vinegar. Add a splash to sparkling water, lemonade or your favorite cocktail (or mocktail!) for an instant upgrade that feels fancy without requiring a ton of effort.
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For years, I have been making homemade shrub syrup with scraps and pieces of fruit that are past the prime in which I’d eat them by themselves.
And it is a brilliant practice.
Every summer when I have an abundance of peaches, I make peach shrub syrup. In the winter I’m continually tinkering with my cranberry shrub syrup recipe. And in the spring, this strawberry version is how I like to enjoy the fruits of the season.
So today, I want to share with you how to make this delicious base for various drinks.
What is a shrub? A shrub is a drinking vinegar, which is essentially a fruit- or vegetable-based syrup that is paired with an equal or almost equal amount of vinegar to make something that is both sweet but tart to use as a base for a mocktail or a cocktail. I use apple cider vinegar in all my shrub recipes, and that is what we use here, too. I like it because it tastes a little bit milder than a white vinegar.
Why I love this recipe:
This strawberry shrub syrup recipe is one of the gifts that keeps giving year-round.
Make a batch when you have an overabundance of strawberries and sip it for the following months.
Another beautiful piece about shrubs is that you can customize them to your tastebuds.
I like to use about one cup of sugar for a pound of fruit, but that is entirely dependent on how fresh and sweet the fruit is. (Psst, you’ve got to try the fruit to confirm.) So if the fruit is more tart you might have to add a little bit more sugar, and if it is super sweet, you probably need less.
This is something that you learn as you go, which I understand is frustrating when you just want a recipe to work. However, I hope this recipe is a good baseline for you that you can then tweak.
You can make a shrub two different ways — with the hot process or the cold process. I like to use the hot process most of the time and actually use it here because it is faster. The cold process, which I use in my grape shrub recipe, requires you to let the fruit sit and macerate for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature. I’m impatient, and the hot process is done a lot faster than that.
Plus, shrub syrup is an excellent liquid to have in the fridge for drink making purposes. I love to add a splash of shrub syrup to sparkling water. That just elevates it and makes it feel fancy… not only is it so delicious, but it’s perfect for a hot summer’s day.
One of my daughters requests to add a drizzle of the syrup to her lemonade whenever we have it on hand. It adds bright color and some tartness that plays well with the tartness of lemon and just makes the glass look stunning.
More refreshing non-alcoholic recipes to try: Homemade Margarita Mix | Arnold Palmer Iced Tea Lemonade | Sweet Sunrise Mocktail
What you need to make this recipe:
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- Measuring spoons and cups and/or a kitchen scale
- Liquid measuring cup
- Small saucepan
- Rubber spatula
- Fine mesh strainer
- Mason jar and/or liquid storage container
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here is what you need to get at the store to make this recipe:
- Strawberries — the freshest, sweetest wines you can get your hands on. While I am sure you can make this with frozen strawberries, I have not tried that yet.
- Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar. This is what sweetens our shrub syrup and there is no replacement. I do not recommend using brown sugar as that’s going to introduce molasses notes to the mixture and depending on the fruit, that may or may not work.
- Apple cider vinegar — this is the vinegar for our drinking vinegar. I prefer apple cider vinegar to others because it has a slight sweetness to it and I think it pairs nicely with fruits.
How to make a Strawberry Shrub
Measure out everything. Wash your strawberries, hull and chop them. Measure the sugar directly into a saucepan and toss the strawberries on top of them.
Macerate. Toss the strawberries in the sugar and let them sit in the saucepan for 10 to 30 minutes at room temperature. They will begin to release their juices.
Cook. Once the strawberries have released some juices, place the saucepan on the stove top and cook over medium-high heat for 10 to 20 minutes or until the strawberries have released all their juices and become incredibly soft.
You want to do this before the liquid starts evaporating and the strawberries become jammy. Those are delicious but you will not want to use them for a strawberry shrub syrup.
Strain. Run the strawberry sugar through a fine mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup.
Add the vinegar. Stir to combine, and then transfer into a small mason jar or another drink container to then refrigerate.
Enjoy. Chill or serve immediately with your favorite dippers. This dip works well with a lot of sliced vegetables but it’s also great with crackers and rounds of baguette or crostini.
how to store:
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a month. Enjoy chilled. This also freezes well in an ice cube or SouperCube tray.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes because otherwise, you will not know if you need to start with what is written or if you need to go lighter on the sugar.
This is a hot process shrub, which means we heat the fruit and boil the liquid out of it quickly. Cold process is when you let the fruit macerate at room temperature for 24 – 48 hours. My grape shrub recipe is a cold process recipe. This method can be done with strawberries, but I like when my shrub syrup is ready more quickly so I can start enjoying it.
Yes, though I have not tried that before.
While you can swap out the strawberry for a different berry or a different fruit, you will no longer have a strawberry shrub. I do not recommend using a different vinegar or a different sweetener for this recipe.
The shrub is done cooking when the strawberries begin falling apart, and you have a lot of liquid in the pan.
This keeps for up to two weeks in the refrigerator and a few months in the freezer if you freeze it into ice cube molds or SouperCube molds and then transfer them to an airtight freezer bag.
I like to start out with a tablespoon or two and then swirl in more if I want or need more.
If your shrub is too tart, your fruit either wasn’t super ripe (and you didn’t add extra sugar to account for it), or you added too much vinegar. You can fix this by making more syrup with more fruit and balancing it out. If it’s too sweet, you can add in more vinegar.
Quick tips and tricks to the best strawberry shrub:
- Use the best tasting strawberries you can find. This will make for a more balanced shrub with the beautifully sweet strawberries and the wonderfully tart vinegar working together.
- Double or triple the recipe. Since this freezes well, you can make a huge batch, which is perfect for strawberry season when you have an abundance of strawberries.
- Add it to various drinks. Make it into a fun mocktail, like I show below or even add it to your favorite flavor of sparkling water or a splash of it to brighten up classic lemonade.
Here’s how you can make this drink at home…
Strawberry Shrub
EQUIPMENT
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- Measuring spoons and measuring cups and/or a kitchen scale
- Mason jar (pint) and/or liquid storage container
Ingredients
Strawberry Syrup (This makes about ¼ cup dense, rich syrup)
- ½ lbs. fresh strawberries chopped
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Shrub Syrup
- ¼ cup strawberry syrup/liquid recipe above
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
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Instructions
Make the Strawberry Syrup
- Combine the chopped ½ lbs. fresh strawberries and ½ cup granulated sugar in a medium saucepan. Let sit for a few minutes to begin macerating.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook down until the strawberries have fallen apart, about 15 minutes.
- Strain the liquid from the soft strawberries using a fine mesh strainer. There should be about ¼ cup strawberry syrup/liquid. (You can discard of the peaches or use them as a quick jam for breads, biscuits and more.)
Make the Strawberry Shrub Syrup
- Measure the ¼ cup strawberry syrup/liquid and 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar into a mixing bowl or a liquid measuring cup.
- Stir to combine.
- Store in a mason jar or storage container in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
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